"What if? What Alternate History Fiction Tells Us About Our Past,
Present, and Future"

Hugo Award-winning writer Harry Turtledove - broadly christened as the
"Master of Alternate History" - presents about his work
and the alternate-history genre at McPherson College on January 16.

The special McPherson College Lecture is entitled "What if? What Alternate History Fiction Tells Us About Our Past, Present, and Future." The public is invited and encouraged to attend this free lecture.

Planet Comicon 2014 Special Guests: Star Trek Cast Members,
Many More

Planet Comicon is pleased to announce a massive Star Trek: The Next Generation event. Kansas City welcomes Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner,
and Wil Wheaton for the weekend, plus William Shatner will be available on a limited schedule for photos and autographs on Sunday only.

The con will also host many other comic and media personalities for the
weekend. Advance tickets to
Planet Comicon 2014 are available online now.

Fulbright Scholar and Pulitzer-Prize WinnerMichael Dirda Speaks at KU

"A Literary Life:
Twenty-Five Years at the Washington Post Book World"

WhenTuesday, October 29, 20135:00pm - 6:30pm

WhereBig 12 Room
University of Kansas Student UnionLawrence, KS 66045

CostFree! Seating is limited, so arrive early to
ensure a spot.

Jayhawk Ink bookstore will have copies of several of Dirda's books available to purchase in the room (as well as in the bookstore on Level2) and have signed by the author after his talk.

Click the image to downloadthe full-size .pdf poster.

About Dirda
In 1978
Michael Dirda joined the staff of The Washington Post as an assistant editor in its book review section. In those days, The Post still used typewriters, six-ply paper and linotype machines, and was riding high in the wake of Watergate. In this Fall's Gunn Lecture, Dirda - a Fulbright Scholar and Pulitzer-Prize-winning critic
- speaks about literary journalism then and now, life at a great newspaper, some of the writers he has come to know, and the ongoing evolution of books and publishing.

Dirda, a
weekly columnist for
The Washington Post, is the author of the memoir An Open Book and of four collections of essays: Readings, Bound to Please, Book by Book and Classics for Pleasure. His latest book,
On Conan Doyle, received the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Award for nonfiction from the Mystery Writers of America. A Fulbright Fellowship recipient, Dirda graduated with Highest Honors in English from Oberlin College, and earned a PhD in comparative literature (medieval studies and European romanticism) from Cornell University. In 1993 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his literary criticism.

Dirda's review column for
The Washington Post was one of the very first that seriously
covered science fiction and other genres not typically treated with the same
respect as mainstream literature. Check out his
Science Fiction Reading List as documented by a fan.

The Lecture SeriesThe Gunn Lecture,
endowed by Dr. Richard W. Gunn, James Gunn's brother, has featured several science-fiction scholars. Although it has
also sponsored speakers on Shakespeare and Ralph Ellison, it often brings
distinguished science-fiction scholars to the campus beginning with
scholar Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Professor at Duke University; and
continuing with Bill Brown, Edgar Carson Waller Professor at the University of
Chicago; China Miéville, British author of what has become known as the New
Weird; Nöel Sturgeon, Theodore Sturgeon's daughter, Trustee of
his literary estate (which recently made
a major donation of his papers to KU),
Dean of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, and juror on the
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award; and most recently science-fiction
author, activist, journalist, and technology activist
Cory Doctorow. The Center also recently co-sponsored
a visit from Michael Chabon, prize-winning author and editor.

The event is free for students and the general public thanks to the
Lawrence Public Library.

For more information call the Union Programs office at (785)
864-7469.

WhenOctober 23, 2013, 7:00pm - 9:00pm

WhereBallroom, KU Kansas Union

CostFree

James Gunn Reading and Signing in Lawrence, KS: October 9

LAWRENCE, KS - September 19, 2013

James Gunn will read from and sign his new novel Transcendental on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Jayhawk Ink
Bookstore from 4:00pm-5:30pm.Transcendental
is an alien Canterbury Tales-Origin of Species-New
Space Opera mashup, full of ideas and wonder.

Come get a copy of his wonderful new novel that Frederik Pohl called, "his best yet, and in it he
demonstrates his possession of one of the most finely developed
skills at world-building (and at aliens-creating to populate those
worlds) in science fiction today. Read it!"

James Gunn's newest novel, out now from Tor Books. Click for full-size
slipcover art (.pdf).

James Gunn on Science Fiction Spotlight Radio
Show: September 27

"Dive in to the history, the art, the teaching and the lessons of the future!"

"Authors On The Air is proud to present the Science Fiction Spotlight, with Mack Meijers, welcoming to the studio the author, editor, anthologist, scholar and grand master of science fiction - James Gunn. Born in the interbellum, James Gunn is a man more than an author of science fiction. A navy veteran, he has a rich career in writing, and teaching, in science - and science fiction. Winner of the Hugo Award, 24th Grand Master of the SFWA, and
Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction."

"Tune in, listen in, call or Skype in for great conversation, an in-depth interview, sneak peeks - a good dose of the how-to and the history of the future and much, much more! The Science Fiction Spotlight - featuring straight-up and in-depth sessions of interviews and conversations, with the masters of the genre, upcoming talents - published and self-published - and industry professionals."

In Memoriam: Frederik Pohl
1919 - 2013

LAWRENCE, KS - September 2, 2013

Frederik Pohl authored nearly 50 novels, dozens of short
stories, and several nonfiction books, and has edited a number of anthologies
and magazines, perhaps most notably Galaxy. Pohl won the Hugo and Nebula Awards multiple
times, as well as the Campbell Award (and until
recently, he was the only two-time Campbell winner, 1978 and 1985).
Here's a short biography on his website.

At the 2013 Campbell Conference, the Center presented a special Sturgeon Award to Fred for his long and distinguished service to the Award and the Center.

Starting in 1995, when the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award became a juried award, Pohl served first with James Gunn and Judith Merril, and since then with several other
distinguished jurors until retiring in 2013. Pohl was associated with Gunn since the 1940s,
eventually becoming involved with what later became
the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Here he presented many talks, recorded a discussion about "The Ideas in Science Fiction" in 1973
Literature of Science Fiction lecture series, served the
Intensive Institute on Science Fiction and
Science Fiction Writing Workshop, and lent his
understanding to the Center in countless other ways. We cannot begin to express
how much we will miss his help, insight, and friendship.

Sturgeon Award juror Andy Duncan talks about being honored with the Award by Pohl:

One of the highlights of my life was being handed my Sturgeon Award trophy by Frederik Pohl, at the 2002 ceremony, as he's been one of my heroes since I was a kid. His stories, novels, and nonfiction, and the magazines and anthologies he has edited, have not only shaped the field of science fiction for me and everyone else, but have shaped my conception of what it means to be a professional writer. On the Sturgeon jury, in particular, his firsthand knowledge of the science-fiction short story is simply irreplaceable; the jury will have a Fred-shaped hole in it forever.

I met Fred Pohl in the summer of 1994, when I received the Sturgeon Award at the Campbell Conference. My vividest memory of the event was him shaking my hand and telling me I had written a fine story. I still feel proud and warm every time I remember this. A couple of years later, I became part of the Sturgeon jury with him, and I relished his part in discussion of the finalists and his company at each year's Campbell Conference. He was a brilliant writer, a great editor, a good agent, an intelligent critic, a charming speaker, a humorous conversationalist - and a great fan. I will miss him, as so many will.

I'll miss Fred a great deal. I first came to the University of Kansas to take James Gunn's SF Writing Workshop in the summer of 1992, and was both astounded and incredibly pleased to discover that we had the opportunity to work with not only Gunn but another master of the art - completely to ourselves! - Frederik Pohl. I first read his work in the form of Gateway, which still holds a central place in my heart.

Fred hugely influenced my writing development - not just by example through his brilliant writing, but also through his insightful and inciseful critiques of my stories. In just a few words, Fred could pin down what was wrong with a story and suggest just what it needed to work. One of the most-memorable comments I ever received was Fred's, "If I were still editing
Galaxy, I'd buy it." That was all he said about the story, and with that benediction, he made me feel like a real writer. One of my novellas owes its title to Fred; I can't recall what awful moniker it first bore, but when Fred Pohl said, "Your title isn't very memorable; I'd call it 'The Recursive Man,'" I knew immediately he was right and that I was in the midst of a genius wordsmith.

That workshop changed my life. I felt that I must do my absolute best to become a real SF writer so I could retroactively deserve such access and professional attention. Fred returned to the Workshop and Campbell Conference just about every year for the following two decades, sharing his time, intelligence, and gentle wisdom with other summer-program attendees. Fred is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Center. No one can be Fred, but he inspires us to be our absolute best.

Since I learned of Fred's death I've remembered that he was associated with almost everything good in science fiction that happened to me. I first met Fred 61 years ago, and he sold my stories, bought my stories, edited my books, shared precious moments at meetings here and abroad, answered my calls to help my fledgling science-fiction programs, and was always there for encouragement and advice. Having his words on the cover of my current novel and in the commemorative program of LoneStarCon 3 is like a final blessing that I will always cherish.

Fred told me once, "Conventions never end; they just adjourn to another
venue." That's the way it was for Fred and me. We met at a convention, the World
Science Fiction Convention of 1952, held in the old Morrison Hotel in Chicago.
It was my first convention, my first meeting with SF writers and editors, and
even readers, of any kind, and it was a wonderful beginning.

I'd been writing science fiction since the spring of 1948 and having my stories published since the fall of 1949. During those two years I kept writing, among other things a novella, "Breaking Point," that I adapted from a three-act play I wrote as an Investigation and Conference project. I sent it to Horace Gold, editor of Galaxy, and one day I got a telephone call from this clipped New York voice saying he liked "Breaking Point," but it was too long and would I let Ted Sturgeon cut it down.

Horace also suggested my name to Fred Pohl, who was running a literary agency called Dirk Wylie and, I later discovered, was close to Horace, and Fred became my agent. He was a good agent, and he sold a lot of stories for me—some to Horace (though not "Breaking Point," which he sold to Lester del Rey at the new Space Science Fiction), some to John Campbell, some to lesser markets, and one wondrous sale to Argosy—and a couple of novels.

When Orson Scott Card got too busy to organize the Sturgeon Award decision process, I asked Fred if we could do it. Together we recruited Judy Merril and later, after her resignation the year before her death, we got Kij Johnson, a previous winner, as a replacement. I haven't even mentioned Fred's distinguished service as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America (or the irony of his having criticized its value in earlier days), or as president of World SF, or his many invitations to speak as a futurist, or his lecturing on science fiction in Europe for the US Information Agency (he paved the way for my three later trips), or his Grand Master Award from SFWA, or his awards from other groups such as the Science Fiction Research Association, or the trends his stories and novels have anticipated. You can look it up.

We've all grown old together, Fred and me and science fiction, too. Conventions are not what they used to be (neither is the future). I wasn't there at the beginning of the conventions, as Fred was, or of the Futurians, who were banned from the first World Convention but got their revenge by taking over a good part of science fiction in their day. But we've seen a lot of it—Fred for more than seventy years, me for only sixty. Maybe the next convention will convene in an alternate universe.

Check out this recording of Fred reading his brilliant story, "Day Million" -
Part I:

And Part II:

Want to hear more from Fred? On November 10, 2012, Fred made a rare, live appearance at
Windycon 39 in Lombard, Illinois,
talking about his 75-year writing career. Leigh Hanlon of
ChicagoScope recorded this piece which also features Pohl's wife,
Elizabeth Anne Hull, and
author and journalist Leah A. Zeldes, who interviews Pohl:

He was a truly great man, and kind, and thoughtful, and patient, and good. He
never stopped pursuing his passions, which among many things included continuing
to educate himself, writing, and even traveling well into his 90s. His endless promotion of science was inspiring, and his gentle criticism of the foolish ways of humans made me a better person. I'll miss him a great deal. We all will. The loss of Frederik Pohl makes the world a little less bright.

Our hearts go out to
Betty,
who was wonderful for him, and good to him, and helped keep Fred
lively and active even when life became challenging.

CSSF Director Chris McKitterick to Present Talk on
Science Fiction
at the "Science on Tap" Series

LAWRENCE, KS - July 19, 2013

The University of Kansas
Natural History Museum
hosts a science discussion and lecture series of informal "science café" events called "Science on Tap"
presented at a local brewery. For this summer's event, Chris McKitterick leads
a conversation on "Science Fiction: Mythologies for a Changing Age" from 7:30pm - 9:00pm on Tuesday, July
23,
at Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St., in Lawrence, KS.

Description: Speculative fiction has served as the mythology of our time from the very first stories humans told one another
to today's most relevant literature. These stories provide concrete, emotionally and intellectually satisfying paths
toward making sense of living in a world of ever-increasing change. For this Science on Tap, Chris McKitterick,
Director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, leads a discussion about the ways that science
fiction provides our myths and teaches us how to survive and remain sane in an
age of change.

CSSF Founding Director James Gunn to be Author Guest of Honor at 2013 WorldCon

LAWRENCE, KS - July 12, 2013

James Gunn will be Author Guest of Honor at the 2013
WorldCon in San Antonio, Texas, called
LoneStarCon3. Former
students and friends are invited to attend a special reception honoring Gunn
during the convention; if you'll be at LoneStarCon and you're a "Young Gunn" or a friend of Jim interested in
attending, please contact Chris McKitterick (cmckit@ku.edu)
ASP to be placed on the invite-only attendee list.

Today is also Gunn's 90th birthday - happy birthday, Jim!

Gunn's upcoming
(August 2013)
novel
Transcendental just got a starred review from Kirkus Reviews that calls it "Gunns best in years - quite possibly
his best ever." What a nice birthday present, wouldn't you say? Beyond being
honored at this year's WorldCon, he just had a collection of essays
published, was Guest of Honor at the
2013 SFRA/Eaton Conference,
and will see at least two more books published before his next birthday. If only
the rest of us could be so awesome at any age.

The first-ever Lifeboat to the Stars
Award went to
Tau Ceti,
a unique combination of novella by
Kevin J. Anderson and
sequel novelette by Steven Savile;
Anderson was on hand to accept the award. The Lifeboat Foundation
established this new award to recognize the best work of science fiction
published in 2011 or 2012 that contributes to an understanding of the benefits,
means, or difficulties of interstellar travel, in the hope that it will assist
with the Foundation's goal to improve humankind's long-term survival.
Eric Klien,
President and administrator of the Foundation, said, "science fiction has the
ability to explore the unknown and its human implications. We want to encourage
writers to contribute their imaginations to these vital purposes."

Molly Gloss won the Sturgeon Award for her short story "The Grinnell Method,"
from the September, 2012, issue of Strange Horizons.
Though she was unable to attend, Gloss provided a video of her acceptance
speech. Linda Nagata won second place for "Nahiku West," published in the
October issue of Analog. Robert
Reed took third place with Eater-of-Bone,
a stand-alone novella by PS Publishing. The jurors note that the voting for this
year's prize was especially close, and that all of the top three stories deserve
recognition. The
Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the
Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU, and the heirs of
Theodore Sturgeon, including his partner Jayne Engelhart Tannehill and Sturgeon's
children, as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story
writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction.

Adam Roberts won the Campbell Award for
Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer;
due to other obligations, Roberts was unable to attend, but sent his video
acceptance. Terry Bisson's Any Day Now, published by Overlook, won second place. Third
place was a tie between M. John Harrison's Empty Space,
published by Gollancz and Night Shade Books; and G. Willow Wilson's debut novel, Alif the Unseen,
published by Grove Press. As with this year's Sturgeon Award, the Campbell Award
voting was extremely close, which is why the jury wished to recognize four books
this year instead of the usual three. Writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss established the
Campbell Award to honor the late editor of
Astounding Science Fiction magazine (which later became Analog) as a way of continuing his efforts to encourage writers to
produce their best possible work. Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937
until his death in 1971, is called by many writers and scholars the father of
modern science fiction.

Depending on your reading tastes, your favorite book or short story for 2012
might turn out to be any of the finalists, so the jurors recommend that you read
all the works on both the Sturgeon short-list and the
Campbell short-list.

Additionally, James Gunn presented a special Sturgeon Award to
Frederik Pohl
for his long and distinguished service to the Award and the Center. Starting in 1995,
when the Sturgeon Award became a juried award, Pohl served first with
James Gunn and Judith Merril,
and since then with several other highly respected jurors. Pohl also presented
many talks, recorded a fantastic discussion about "Ideas in Science Fiction" for
the
Literature of Science Fiction Lecture Series, served the
Intensive Institute on Science Fiction and
Science Fiction Writing Workshop, and lent his
understanding to the Center in countless other ways. We very much appreciate his
insight and friendship, and will miss him.

Campbell Conference Updates

Best-selling SF author
Kevin J. Anderson
kicks off the Conference on Friday afternoon with a talk about dreaming big and
making unrealistic expectations pay off.

From 9:00am - 4:45pm, the Spencer Research Library will display a selection of rare SF materials from the special SF collections in the Johnson room.
Stop by any time, and ask for Elspeth Healey if you would like a tour. This, of course, is open to the public whether or not you've registered for the Conference.

Saturday morning's round-table discussion theme is "To
the Stars," where we will explore SF's long relationship with
off-planet travel, its promises, and the future of the human race as a galactic
species. We will also discuss the important steps along the path to the stars.

During lunch break on Saturday, get your books signed by this year's
guest authors and editors at a mass autographing
session. The bookstore has volumes for everyone on hand.

The Campbell Award is one of the major annual awards for science fiction. The first Campbell Award was presented at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. Since then the Award has been presented in various parts of the world: at California State University at Fullerton; at St. John's College, Oxford; at the World SF Writers Conference in Dublin; in Stockholm; at the World SF meeting in Dublin again; the University of Kansas; and in a joint event with the SFRA Convention in Kansas City in 2007.

Since 1979, the Campbell Award has been presented during the Campbell Conference at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as the focal point of a weekend of discussions about the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.

The Award was created to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, now named Analog. Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937 until his death in 1971, is called by many writers and scholars the father of modern science fiction. Writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss established the award in Campbell's name as a way of continuing his efforts to encourage writers to produce their best possible work.

The Campbell Award differs from most other major awards in the field by being restricted to the novel and by its method of selection. The Hugo Awards are voted on by some thousand of the several thousand members who attend the World Science Fiction Convention, which meets annually at different locations on Labor Day weekend. The Nebula Awards are voted on by some hundred of the nearly three thousand members of the Science Fiction Writers of America and presented at the annual Nebula Award meeting usually held late in the Spring.

The Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Center, and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon, including his partner Jayne Engelhart Tannehill and Sturgeon's children, as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction. The current jury consists of Elizabeth Bear, Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, George Zebrowski, and Noël Sturgeon, Trustee of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Estate.

Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his best-known novel is the classic, More Than Human), Sturgeon also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a regular visiting writer at the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died in 1985. His books, manuscripts, and papers are deposited at the University of Kansas.

Science Fiction Grand Master
James Gunn - who founded the
Center for the Study of SF at KU and taught the workshop from 1985 to 2010 -
joins this summer's Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop for Week One of the
Workshop. Also,
Andy Duncan has once again agreed to serve as guest author for Week Two of
the
Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop. Welcome
back, Jim and Andy! Author and CSSF Director
Christopher McKitterick,
who served as guest author from 1996 to 2010, has led the Workshop since 2011.

For 2013, the Workshop meets from June 2 - 14, followed by the
Campbell Awards and Conference, which runs from June 13 - 16, which in turn
is followed by the two-week
Intensive Science Fiction Institute. Gunn joins us for the first week of the
Workshop, for lunches throughout, and for the Conference; Andy joins us for the
second week plus the Conference; and our Campbell Award- and Sturgeon
Award-winning authors are usually on hand for the last day or two of the
Workshop to share their expertise.

The Workshop is a fantastic experience, intended especially for writers who have just begun to publish or
who need that final bit of insight or skill to become a published author. We
work with all brands of speculative fiction, including horror, fantasy, magical
realism, slipstream, speculative philosophy, all genres of science fiction, and
so on, and it's a wonderful way to bond with fellow writers in a friendly and
dedicated atmosphere. Plus we go out to dinner every night at a different
restaurant in downtown Lawrence, watch lots of (both admirable and awful) SF
film, and write our brains out.

Starting in 2011, the Workshop is also available for KU graduate credit as ENGL 757. If you're a grad student who needs summer credit
to accelerate that graduation date, perfect! Most attendees, however, simply
enroll as a professional workshop rather than for credit. Attendees come to KU
from all around the world, so you'll get the chance to work with new people.

Interested? This is quite the opportunity to gain insights from some of the most-respected authors in the
field. We are open for applications right now through May 20, but sooner
is better as we usually fill early. See
the website for details.

Elizabeth Bear and Andy Duncan
Join Sturgeon Award Jury

Elizabeth Bear and Andy Duncan have accepted appointment to the jury
for the
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the
best short SF of the year. They replace
Frederik Pohl,
who retired from the jury after having served for
many years, almost since the Award's inception (see the next News item for more
about Pohl's retirement).

Elizabeth Bearphoto by Kyle Cassidy

Elizabeth Bear was born on the
same day as Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but in a different year. She is the John W.
Campbell New Writer, Hugo, Locus, and Spectrum Award-winning author of more than a dozen novels and nearly a hundred
short stories, including her 2008 Sturgeon Award-winning story, "Tideline."
Her work has been nominated numerous times for these and other awards. Bear's hobbies include rock climbing and cooking. Bear lives
in Massachusetts, but may frequently be found in Wisconsin, the home of her
partner, fantasist Scott Lynch.

The Sturgeon Award for
the best short science fiction of the year is one of the major annual awards for
science fiction. It was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the
Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU, and the heirs of
Theodore Sturgeon, including his widow Jayne Sturgeon and Sturgeon's
children, as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story
writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction.

Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age
of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the
four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac
Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their
first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his
best-known novel is the classic, More than Human), Sturgeon
also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and
television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original
Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a
regular visiting writer at the Intensive
Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died
in 1985.

For its first eight years (1987-1994), the Sturgeon Award was selected by a committee of short-fiction
experts headed by Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the Sturgeon Award became
a juried award, with winners selected by a
committee composed of James Gunn, Frederik Pohl, and
Judith Merril. After the
1996 Award, Judith Merril resigned and was replaced by Kij Johnson, the 1994 Sturgeon
winner; in 2005,
George Zebrowski joined the jury. Since 1999, one of Sturgeon's
children has also participated in this process, usually Nöel Sturgeon.

Eligible stories are those published in English during the previous calendar
year. Nominations come from a wide
variety of science-fiction reviewers and serious readers as well as from the
editors who publish short fiction. Nominations are collected during the winter by
Chris McKitterick,
who produces a list of finalists based
on nominators' rankings. The jury then reads all of the finalists and debates
their merits during the spring until they arrive at a consensus decision in May. The winning author is usually contacted in May
and invited to attend the Campbell Conference; the winner often attends the last
day or two of the SF Writers Workshop, as well.

Frederik Pohl Steps Down from Sturgeon Award Jury

Earlier this year,
Frederik Pohl announced his intentions to step down from
his long-time
service to the Award.

New Sturgeon Award juror Andy Duncan
talks about being honored with the Award by Pohl:

One of the highlights of my life was being handed my Sturgeon Award trophy by Frederik Pohl,
at the 2002 ceremony, as he's been one of my heroes since I was a kid. His stories, novels,
and nonfiction, and the magazines and anthologies he has edited, have not only shaped the field of
science fiction for me and everyone else, but have shaped my conception of what it means to be a
professional writer. On the Sturgeon jury, in particular, his firsthand knowledge of the science-fiction
short story is simply irreplaceable; the jury will have a Fred-shaped hole in it forever.

I first came to the University of Kansas to take James Gunn's SF Writing
Workshop in the summer of 1992, and was both astounded and incredibly pleased to
discover that we had the opportunity to work with not only Gunn but another master of the art
- completely
to ourselves! - Frederik Pohl. I first read his work in the
form of
Gateway, which still holds a central place in my heart and deeply
influenced how I write. That workshop
truly changed my life. I felt that I must do my absolute best to become a real
SF writer so I could retroactively deserve such access and professional
attention. Fred returned to the Workshop and
Campbell Conference just about every year for the following two decades, sharing
his time, intelligence, and gentle wisdom with other summer-program attendees.
Fred is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Center. No one can be Fred,
but he inspires us to be our absolute best.

Fred told me once, "Conventions never end; they just adjourn to another
venue." Thats the way it was for Fred and me. We met at a convention, the World
Science Fiction Convention of 1952, held in the old Morrison Hotel in Chicago.
It was my first convention, my first meeting with SF writers and editors, and
even readers, of any kind, and it was a wonderful beginning.

Id been writing science fiction since the spring of 1948 and having my
stories published since the fall of 1949. During those two years I kept
writing, among other things a novella, "Breaking Point," that I adapted from a
three-act play I wrote as an Investigation and Conference project. I sent it
to Horace Gold, editor of Galaxy, and one day I got a telephone call
from this clipped New York voice saying he liked "Breaking Point," but it was
too long and would I let Ted Sturgeon cut it down.

Horace also suggested my name to Fred Pohl, who was running a literary
agency called Dirk Wylie and, I later discovered, was close to Horace, and Fred
became my agent. He was a good agent, and he sold a lot of stories for me - some
to Horace (though not "Breaking Point," which he sold to Lester del Rey at the
new Space Science Fiction), some to John Campbell, some to lesser markets, and
one wondrous sale to Argosy and a couple of novels.

When Orson Scott Card got too busy to organize the Sturgeon Award
decision process, I asked Fred if we could do it. Together we recruited Judy
Merril and later, after her resignation the year before her death, we got Kij
Johnson, a previous winner, as a replacement. I haven't even mentioned Fred's
distinguished service as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America (or
the irony of his having criticized its value in earlier days), or as president
of World SF, or his many invitations to speak as a futurist, or his lecturing on
science fiction in Europe for the US Information Agency (he paved the way for my
three later trips), or his Grand Master Award from SFWA, or his awards from
other groups such as the Science Fiction Research Association, or the trends his
stories and novels have anticipated. You can look it up.

We've all grown old together, Fred and me and science fiction, too.
Conventions are not what they used to be (neither is the future). I wasn't there
at the beginning of the conventions, as Fred was, or of the Futurians, who were
banned from the first World Convention but got their revenge by taking over a
good part of science fiction in their day. But we've seen a lot of it - Fred for
more than seventy years, me for only sixty. Maybe the next convention will
convene in an alternate universe.

When in Lawrence, KS, you can find Meagan and Mackenzie throughout the week
in the CSSF offices and Lending Library located in 3040 Wescoe (their schedule
is posted outside the room). If you prefer Facebook interaction, we have both a
page and a group here. AboutSF is also on Facebook; you can find the
AboutSF
Facebook Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27027711727

AboutSF is the Center's educational-outreach program. We help teachers,
librarians, researchers, and readers learn more about speculative literature and
how to use it in teaching. AboutSF is a joint project of the Center for the
Study of Science Fiction at KU, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of
America, and the Science Fiction Research Association, with generous support
from Tor Books, The Heinlein Prize Trust, and several individual donors.

Don't miss hearing one of contemporary science fiction's brightest minds talk
about some of our most-relevant issues! Sponsored by the Center for the Study of
Science Fiction and the KU Department of
English.

Bio:Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist,
and technology activist. He is the co-editor of the popular weblog
Boing Boing, and a
contributor to The Guardian, the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wired, and
many other newspapers, magazines, and websites. He was formerly Director of
European Affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit
civil-liberties group that defends freedom in technology law, policy, standards,
and treaties. He holds an honorary doctorate in computer science from the Open
University (UK), where he is a Visiting Senior Lecturer; in 2007, he served as
the Fulbright Chair at the Annenberg Center for Public Diplomacy at the
University of Southern California.

He co-founded the open-source peer-to-peer software company OpenCola, sold to
OpenText, Inc in 2003, and presently serves on the boards and advisory boards of
the Participatory Culture Foundation, the Clarion Foundation, The Glenn Gould
Foundation, and the Chabot Space & Science Center's SpaceTime project.

In
2007, Entertainment Weekly called him, "The William Gibson of his generation."
He was also named one of Forbes Magazine's 2007/8/9/10 Web Celebrities, and one
of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders for 2007.

Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

The Lecture Series:The Gunn Lecture,
endowed by Dr. Richard W. Gunn, James Gunn's brother, has featured several science-fiction scholars. Although it has
also sponsored speakers on Shakespeare and Ralph Ellison, it often brings
distinguished science-fiction scholars to the campus beginning with
scholar Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Professor at Duke University; and
continuing with Bill Brown, Edgar Carson Waller Professor at the University of
Chicago; China Miéville, British author of what has become known as the New
Weird; and Nöel Sturgeon, Theodore Sturgeon's daughter, Trustee of
his literary estate (which recently made
a major donation of his papers to KU),
Dean of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, and juror on the
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. The Center also recently co-sponsored
a visit from Michael Chabon, prize-winning author and editor.

Pembroke College invited award-winning author Kij Johnson to deliver the
inaugural Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Honor of JRR Tolkien. This
is the first annual lecture in the series designed to explore the history and
current state of fantasy literature. Johnson also offered a fiction masterclass
at Pembroke on January 19th.

The series is intended to memorialize Tolkien, who was Rawlinson and Bosworth
Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke for twenty years; he wrote The Hobbit
and much of The Lord of the Rings during his time at the college. The
lectures are sponsored through a grant from the Pembroke Annual Fund.

In the photo below, organizers of the lecture found a photograph of
Tolkien standing outside Pembroke, and then combined it with a photo of Johnson
standing near the same spot. "These photographs demonstrate how we are all,
literally, walking in the footsteps of people from the past!"

"Lifeboat to the Stars" Award to be Presented at 2013 Campbell Conference

Lawrence, KS - October 23, 2012

The Lifeboat Foundationannounced today
that it will present an award for
the best work of science fiction published in 2011 or 2012 that contributes to
an understanding of the benefits, means, or difficulties of interstellar travel.
The award, of $1,000, will be presented at the 2013
Campbell Conference to
be held at the University of Kansas June 13-16.

Eric Klien,
President and administrator of the
Foundation, said that travel to other solar systems is one way in which humanity
can survive catastrophes, natural or manmade, and can contribute to humanity's
understanding of the universe and of itself. "Many of our members are
science-fiction writers, as well as scientists, and science fiction has the
ability to explore the unknown and its human implications. We want to encourage
writers to contribute their imaginations to these vital purposes."

For
its part, the Campbell Conference, sponsored by the Center for the Study of
Science Fiction, has selected interstellar travel as the topic for the 2013
Conference, which includes a roundtable discussion around a single topic. The
Conference also features its traditional awards - the John W. Campbell Memorial
Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year and the
Theodore Sturgeon
Memorial Award for the best short science fiction of the year.

Robert J. Sawyer, the distinguished Canadian science-fiction writer, chairs the
"Lifeboat to the Stars" award committee, which includes science-fiction author
Greg Bear as its honorary chair. Sawyer will present the award at the award
dinner on Friday, June 13, and will give a talk, open to the public, about the
Lifeboat Foundation and his own writing on Thursday, June 12. Sawyer is the
author of several novels, including FLASH FORWARD, which was adapted into a
television series. Nominations for the Lifeboat award should be e-mailed to
Sawyer.

List what you consider the best novels in two separate categories - SF and
fantasy - and combined SF/F in the novella, novelette, and short-story length.
(Lots of horror in there, too; you pick where you think it best fits.) The 20th
century gets 10 ranked positions for each category, and 21st century fiction
gets five.

Here are some resources to refresh your memory:

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction's Basic Science Fiction Library: Mostly lists novels, but also contains some short fiction. This list is ordered by author, spanning all time. Includes publication dates and even links where we could find them! If you see any glaring omissions, please let
us know and we'll consult about adding those works.

Locus put together this fantastic list of 20th century SF/F novels: They mix SF and fantasy, so you'll have to decide on some of these where a novel belongs. How did they get on this list? "The lists include, first, every title that's won a Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, British Fantasy, British SF, Campbell, Sturgeon, Clarke, International Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, or Bram Stoker award [except for first novels categories]. Second, every title that has been a nominee or runner-up for any two of these awards is included. Third, for 20th century novels, every title included in four or more reference works or polls, such as David Pringle's Science Fiction: 100 Best Novels, Neil Barron's Anatomy of Wonder, NPR's recent poll, and some 50 other works and polls compiled as part of the sfadb.com project, is included. For 21st century novels, since relatively few such references are recent enough to cover that period, the bar is lowered to inclusion in any one such work. The bars are set so that the number of titles added to the lists from such references is about the same as the number of titles included due to award standings."

The Locuslist of 20th century short SF/F. How did they get on this list? "For short fiction, the supplement to awards data is the number of anthology and collection reprints a story has accumulated, based on data compiled in the Locus Index to Science Fiction by William Contento. For 20th century stories, the bar is more than 8; for 21st century stories, the bar is more than 2, though the Index is not complete through 2010 and some recent titles have been added based on manual inspection of various year's-best anthologies. Again, the bars are set so that the final lists are roughly divided between titles via award references and titles via reprint references. For works not on the short fiction lists, there are word-count guidelines on the 20th century short fiction page."

The Locuslist of 21st century short SF/F: See above for details. Also note that the letters in the publication-date info for suggestions of which category to use: ss is for short story, nvt is for novelette, nva is for novella.

That's a lot of reading references! I hope you find it useful not just for voting on the Locus survey, but for future reading, too.

Jane Frances Gunn Obituary

Lawrence, KS - September 27, 2012

Jane Frances Gunn, 87, died Thursday, Sept. 27, at Brandon Woods. She was born in Phillipsburg, Kansas, April 8, 1925, the younger daughter of Ira and Olive Anderson. She was raised and attended grade and high school in Osborne, Kansas. She attended McPherson College for one year before transferring to the University of Kansas and earning a bachelors degree from the School of Journalism in 1947. After her children were raised she studied toward a masters degree in English.

In the School of Journalism, she met
James Gunn, who had returned from three years of service in the Navy during World War II. They were married the day after she had completed her last class. She worked for the KU News Bureau, as a secretary to the head librarian at Northwestern University, as a reporter for the Kansas City Kansan, as the librarian for the KU School of Journalism, and as the co-owner and later sole owner of the Emporium, a Lawrence art consignment gallery.

The Gunns returned to Lawrence from Kansas City, Missouri, in 1955. Mr. Gunn held several positions with the University, retiring in 1993 as a professor of English. Their elder son Christopher died in 2005. She is survived by Mr. Gunn, of the home, and her younger son Kevin, of Lawrence.

Inurnment will take place at a later date at Pioneer ceremony. Memorials to the Lawrence Animal Shelter may be sent care of the Warren-McElwain Funeral Home.

In 1987, L. Ron Hubbard challenged his fellow science fiction writers to
forecast what the world would be like in 25 years. Then they put together a
"time capsule" of letters to us, now, that was just opened. To discuss how
accurately science fiction predicts the future, Chris McKitterick joined AlterNet futurist Sara Robinson and
"The Daily Circuit"
host Kerri Miller in a piece entitled,
"What did science fiction writers predict for 2012?"

See
McKitterick's blog for links to the original "time capsule" article, his own
predictions, and more.

Kij Johnson Book Tour Announced to Promote At the Mouth of the River of Bees

Lawrence, KS - September 12, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson is now on a book tour. Here are the dates and locations:

Paul McAuley's "The Choice" (Asimov's) won the Sturgeon Award. Second place goes to Charlie Jane
Anders' "Six Months Three Days" (Tor.com),
and third place goes to Ken Liu's "The Paper Menagerie" (F&SF).
Finalists for both awards were also announced on the Center's website.

Winners are invited to accept their awards at the University of Kansas Awards Banquet on Friday, July 6,
and will be featured at the Campbell Conference on Saturday and Sunday.
Slonczewski will be present to accept her award, and
Asimov's editor Sheila Williams will
accept for McAuley.

Using the theme "Communication and Information," this
year's Campbell Conference explores how changing technologies and the ways we
gather and share information is changing science fiction and how we buy, share,
and tell the stories that define the genre. Saturday afternoon, Kij Johnson
hosts a curated readings session, which includes several attending authors and
scholars, and serves to launch the new James Gunn's Ad Astra journal. Other authors and editors attending include
Robin Wayne Bailey, M.C. Chambers, Tina Connolly, Andy Duncan, Sheila Finch,
James Gunn, Kij Johnson, Vylar Kaftan, Larry Martin, McKitterick, and Eric T.
Reynolds.

This is the fourth time in Campbell Award history that
juror balloting has resulted in a tie: in 1974 between Arthur C. Clarke's
Rendezvous with Rama and Robert
Merle's Malevil; in 2002 between Jack
Williamson's Terraforming Earth and
Robert Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths;
and in 2009 between Cory Doctorow's Little
Brother and Ian MacLeod's Song of Time.

Priest and McAuley are Britons. A full-time author, Priest
won the BSFA award in 1974 for Inverted
World, in 1998 for The Extremes,
in 2002 for The Separation, and in
2011 for The Islanders. He also won
the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the World Fantasy Award for
The Prestige (1995). McAuley is a
biologist who has taught at universities around the world, and is now a
full-time author. His first novel, Four
Hundred Billion Stars, won the 1988 Philip K. Dick Award;
Fairyland won the 1997 Campbell Award
and the Arthur C. Clarke Award; and has been nominated for many more.
Slonczewski is a Professor of Biology at Kenyon College, a novelist, and a
textbook author. She also won the 1997 Campbell Award for
A Door into Ocean, the only author
besides Frederik Pohl to have been so honored twice.

Chris McKitterick on NPR's "The Daily Circuit"

St. Paul, MN - June 12, 2012

Chris McKitterick joined SF scholar and editor Gary Wolfe and "The Daily Circuit"
host Kerri Miller to talk about influential SF and fantasy novels and offer
suggestions for summer reading. See
McKitterick's blog for links, recommendations, and more.

James Gunn Remembers Ray Bradbury

Lawrence, KS - June 6, 2012

"Ray Bradbury lived his own story, one that was as magical as any of the fantasies and science fiction he published, and his enjoyment of his transformation from impressionable child to iconic child-in-adult storyteller was embodied in all his stories and relationships. As few in the field of science fiction have been, he was a bridge between the two cultures
- not Snow's science and literature but science fiction and literature. That growing acceptance
- fifty years in development - may be symbolized by Ray's essay about his early imprinting with the magic of imagination in this week's science-fiction issue of the
New Yorker. He will be missed but his life will be celebrated.

"Personally, I had the privilege of meeting Ray a number of times, both in Los Angeles and at several science-fiction conventions, particularly the World Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta where I had him give a moving and eloquent guest-of-honor speech about his love for science fiction and what it had given him
- his life - and what it had to offer to the world. And I'm glad that KU
featured him speaking at the Lied Auditorium in his later years, and that I had the privilege of sitting next to him at dinner and enjoying a personal conversation.

"One of my regrets is that I was never able to add a filmed interview with Ray to my
Science Fiction Lecture Film series. We tried to make arrangements twice, but were never able to complete arrangements."

Ray Bradbury (official page and
Wikipedia article) was
born on August 22, 1920, and made the world a better place through June 5, 2012.
He will be missed by everyone in the SF world, and millions more who don't see
genre distinctions. Among his many awards and recognitions, he was inducted into
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, and the ceremony took
place at the 2001 Nebula Awards in Los Angeles, where Robin Wayne Bailey had the honor of inducting him.

The Kansas City ConQuest SF Convention takes place on Memorial Day Weekend. This year's guests of honor include Gardner Dozois, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Ursula Vernon, and many more. As has been the case for several years now, AboutSF is again the recipient for Sunday's Charity Auction. Thank you, KaCSFFS!

Book-Release Event for Aftermaths Anthology April 13

Several area authors whose stories appear in the upcoming anthology,
Aftermaths, will read from and discuss the new book, including
James Gunn, Christopher McKitterick, M.C. Chambers, Karin Rita Gastreich,
and Hadley Rille Books editor
Eric T. Reynolds.
Just in time for Earth Day!

Kij Johnson Nominated for the Hugo Award

Lawrence, KS - April 7, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson's novella, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist"
(Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011), is now also a finalist for
the Hugo Award - in addition to being up for the Nebula Award.

"Super Nerd Night" - Lawrence Event Supports AboutSF

Local comic-book and gaming store,
Astrokitty
Comics and More, has made
AboutSF its charity
recipient for its bimonthly Super Nerd Night for all of 2012. Local music
venue
The Bottleneck hosts the event, which includes an art contest with
story prompts ("Drink
and Draw"), vintage-console gaming, table
games, live music by area bands, a burlesque show, silent movies, and much more.
See which of your Facebook friends are already planning to go on the
Super
Nerd Night Facebook event page.

With a growing number of speculative-fiction courses
in both literature and writing, and two current faculty members, KU's English
Department continues to strongly support SF. If you're looking for a graduate or
undergraduate program where you can study SF, consider KU!

Welcome, Kij!

James Gunn Sells Three Books!

Lawrence, KS - March 10, 2012

CSSF Founding Director James Gunn has just sold
three books, including his newest novel:

Co-authored with Jack Williamson in 1954 and originally published in 1955, Star Bridge will be published in Tor
Books' classic reprint series.

Together the two novels, almost 60 years apart, bookend a career and in some ways the space epic itself. Also to be reprinted:

Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction,
to be published in China by the Beijing Division of the Shanghai Century Publishing Company.
By a marvelous serendipity, the book was translated by Sasha Jiang, the Center's
2012 visiting scholar from China.

Congratulations, Jim!

Andy Duncan Joins CSSF Science Fiction Writers Workshop for 2012

Lawrence, KS - March 6, 2012

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction again offers the
Science Fiction Writers Workshop on short-fiction
writing. SFWA
Science Fiction Grand Master
James Gunn established the Workshop in 1985 and led it on his own until
1996, when author
and CSSF Director
Christopher McKitterick began co-teaching;
Kij Johnson also co-taught from 1996-2002, before
branching off her own SF&F Novel Writing Workshop,
offered during the same two-week period. Gunn
stepped back his participation in 2010, but plans to drop in from time to time
to meet the workshoppers and offer words of writing wisdom, and he usually joins
us for lunch in the (very good) adjoining dorm cafeteria. We'll likely enjoy
other special-guest authors and editors, as well. Starting in 2011, McKitterick leads the first week, and
this year guest author Andy
Duncan leads the second week.

Duncan attended Clarion West in 1994 and studied creative writing at North Carolina State University under John Kessel
(another Gunn student). He taught Clarion in 2004 and Clarion West in 2005, was a full-time journalist for 12 years, and taught
college for 17 years.
He is an assistant professor of English at Frostburg State University in the western Maryland mountains, and an
instructor in the Honors College of the University of Alabama. He regularly blogs at Beluthahatchie.

Nöel Sturgeon Speaks at the University of Kansas, March 5

Nöel is Theodore Sturgeon's daughter and trustee of his literary
estate; Professor of Critical Cultures, Gender, and Race Studies at
Washington State University; and a juror for the
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

When:
Monday, March 57:00pm - 8:00pm

Where:Malott Room in the University of Kansas Student
UnionLawrence, Kansas

The Gunn Lecture,
endowed by Dr. Richard W. Gunn, James Gunn's brother, has featured several science-fiction scholars. Although it has
also sponsored speakers on Shakespeare and Ralph Ellison, it often brings
distinguished science-fiction scholars to the campus beginning with
scholar Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Professor at Duke University; and
continuing with Bill Brown, Edgar Carson Waller Professor at the University of
Chicago; and China Miéille, British author of what
has become known as the New Weird. The Center also recently co-sponsored a
visit from Michael Chabon, prize-winning author and editor.

Chris McKitterick Gives Keynote Address at UCO Liberal Arts
Symposium

Edmond, OK - February 29, 2012

CSSF Director Chris McKitterick presented this year's keynote address, "Science Fiction: Mythologies for a Changing Age," at
the University of Central Oklahoma's annual
Liberal Arts Symposium XXIV, which
runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm, February 29.

The Symposium offers students the opportunity to present their exemplary writing and research and to participate in other academic and creative activities.
"The symposium allows our upper-level students who might be headed for graduate or professional school an opportunity to attend something that closely resembles the experience of participating in an academic conference, without having to bear the expense and inconvenience of travel," said
Professor Mark Silcox, chair of the Liberal Arts Symposium Committee and
SF Writing Workshop alum.
"It also helps students within our college prepare for the marketplace, gives them the opportunity to hear the ideas of scholars from outside
the University, and helps provoke lively arguments about provocative subjects."

CSSF Director and author
Christopher McKitterick is now accepting
applications for the speculative-fiction Writing
Workshop, which he has co-taught with James Gunn since 1996 and began
leading in 2011. This workshop is now available for college graduate credit.

Kij Johnson Reading at KU Monday, January 23, 2012

Lawrence, KS

Author Kij Johnson will visit the University of Kansas for a
whirlwind tour starting this Sunday through Tuesday, and she'll give a
reading in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union on Monday at 4:00pm, courtesy of
the English Department (she is here as candidate for a fiction-writing associate
professor position in the Department).

"The Gothic Imagination" Event Monday, Oct. 31

Lawrence, KS October 24, 2011

Come to John C. Tibbetts' horror-themed book-release party next Monday! There'll be readings (from John, James Gunn, Ben Cartwright, and Chris McKitterick), costumes, video snippets, and more! Oh, and you can get books signed, too. No cost (unless you buy a book, of course).

Kij Johnson Reading and Signing on Oct. 18 at Jayhawk Ink Bookstore

Lawrence, KS October 12, 2011

Author Kij Johnson read from "The Man Who Bridged The Mist" and signed books at Jayhawk Ink on Tuesday, October
18, from 1:30pm - 3:00pm.

Theodore Sturgeon Award and John W. Campbell Award Winners Announced

Lawrence, KS July 8, 2011

Irish author Ian McDonalds
The Dervish House won the Campbell Award for the best
science-fiction novel of the year and Geoffrey A. Landiss The Sultan of the
Clouds won the Sturgeon Award for the best short science fiction of the year in
a ceremony Friday at the University of Kansas.

The Campbell Award was presented to McDonald by Campbell Award juror
Elizabeth Anne Hull. The Sturgeon Award was presented to Landis by Noel
Sturgeon, Theodore Sturgeons daughter, trustee of his literary estate, and a
member of the Sturgeon Award jury.

McDonald was born in Scotland in 1960 but was moved to Northern Ireland
when he was five, and lived through the troubled years. He was turned on to
science fiction by childhood television programs and began writing at the age of
nine. He sold his first story at twenty-two and became a full-time writer in
1987. Much of his writing has focused on the developing nations of Africa,
India, and South America, and one commentator has suggested that his life in
Northern Ireland led him to consider that country a developing-world society.
The Dervish House is set in Turkey, specifically Istanbul,
five years after Turkey has been admitted to the European Union and offers, one
reviewer said, a coalescence of order out of interacting possibilities.

Landis came to science fiction through science. He was born in Detroit in
1955 but moved regularly throughout his childhood. He is a NASA scientist with a
Ph.D. in physics from Brown University after undergraduate studies at M.I.T. in
physics and electrical engineering. He has worked on several space missions,
including Mars Pathfinder and the long-lived Mars Exploration Rovers. He began
publishing science fiction in 1984 and attended Clarion in 1985, where he met
his wife, writer Mary Turzillo. Landis has won two Hugo Awards and a Nebula
Award for his short fiction. He is known as a writer of hard science fiction,
and The Sultan of the Clouds describes a possible way of living on Venusor,
rather, living in floating cities in the upper atmosphere of Venus.

This is McDonald's second trip to the Awards ceremony. His Tendeleos
Story won the Sturgeon Award in 2001.

Sturgeon Award second place went to "The Maiden Flight of McCauleys Bellerophon," by
Elizabeth Hand; Nathaniel Williams presented the award. Third place went to "The
Things," by Peter Watts; Benjamin Cartwright presented the award.

The Awards are presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction
during the Campbell Conference, a four-day event held annually at the University
of Kansas. The Campbell Award is selected, from nominations by publishers, by a
jury composed of seven writers and academics. The Sturgeon Award is selected,
from nominations by reviewers and editors, by a jury composed of five writers
and academics.

Theodore Sturgeon's Papers Donated to the Science Fiction Special
Collection at KU's Spencer Research Library

The definitive collection of late author Theodore Sturgeons books, papers,
manuscripts, and correspondence have been established at the Kenneth Spencer
Research Library at KU, home to the Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. The Sturgeon Award for the best short science fiction is given
annually at the centers Campbell Conference, this year on July 7-10.

The collection includes:

Original manuscript and multiple film script treatments of More Than
Human, Sturgeons best-known novel

Sturgeons notes and outline for Amok Time, one of two Star Trek
episodes he wrote. In Amok Time, Spock returns to Vulcan to meet his
intended future wife.

And much, much more, to be increasingly catalogued and accessible over
the next several months.

Best known for transforming the pulp magazine short story into an art form,
Sturgeons writing had a strong influence on 60s counterculture, including the
Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. His lyrical and varied style
represented a turn from the hard science fiction of the 1940s to the socially
conscious topics more common in contemporary science fiction, including
sexuality, gender, pacifism, and the individual cost of social conventions. His
short stories ranged from science fiction and fantasy to comedy and horror.

Sturgeon was also known for coining Sturgeons Law, which states that 90
percent of everything is crud, and the credo Ask the next question.

During his career, Sturgeon (1918-85) won virtually every major award in his
field, including the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy Achievement Award, and
the Gaylactica/Spectrum Award for his groundbreaking story about homosexuality,
The World Well Lost. He also was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of
Fame.

The Sturgeon collection, valued at $600,000, had been privately held in two
parts: the Woodstock collection, from his widow, Marion, and the Sturgeon
Literary Trust collection managed by daughter Nol. Additional support came from
KUs Center for the Study of Science Fiction, English department, and Spencer
Research Library.

In making the donation, Noel Sturgeon credits the work of CSSF Founding
Director James Gunn.

Jims long dedication to the teaching and
scholarship of science fiction, and his particular interest in and support of my
fathers work, was the main impetus behind our choice of the Spencer Research
Library at the University of Kansas as the home for Sturgeons collection of
papers, she said.

Beth Whittaker, head of Spencer Research Library, said, This extraordinary
gift ensures that Sturgeons profound literary and cultural legacy will be
available to new generations of scholars, writers and readers.

Starting this year, author
Christopher McKitterick, who has co-taught the workshop since
1996, will lead the first week, and guest author
Bradley Denton
- another former Gunn student - will lead the second week. Denton's novel Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede, won the
John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1992, and is now
in production to become
a film. His two-volume story collection
The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians / A Conflagration Artist won the World Fantasy Award in 1995.
In July 2005, his novella "Sergeant Chip" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.
Denton's music stylings have become a popular feature at SF events around the
country.

Percival's Planet

Author Michael Byers discusses his novel, Percival's Planet, which was inspired by the true story of Kansan and noted astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto. Byers talk will be introduced by Steven A. Hawley, KU Professor of Physics and Astronomy and former NASA astronaut.

The Ballroom event will also feature a guided astronomy display including Tombaugh artifacts, presented from 6:30 p.m. by the KU Department of Physics and Astronomy. Following the talk, Michael Byers will sign his books. Click here to read a sample from his book, published in the New York Times.

The event will conclude with a telescope viewing session on the Kansas Union 6th floor deck (weather permitting).